DIY Smith’s Rosebud Salve

These last few months, I’ve been on a quest to find the perfect dupe for one of my favorite (albeit less than natural) lip balms, Smith’s Rosebud Salve. For years, I’ve had a tin close at hand to help stave off chapped skin and to give my lips that lovely shine rosebud salve is known for, but deep down I knew I needed to find a natural alternative because let’s face it, petrolatum is no bueno for our bodies.

So, I set out on a journey to figure out how to make it myself so that I could finally let go of one of the last un-natural products I own.

I think you’re going to LOVE what I’ve come up with!

DIY Smith’s Rosebud Salve

Seeing as how I’m a stickler for all things natural, I’ve been known to make my own versions of popular mainstream products in order to avoid harmful chemicals, but rosebud salve had me stumped for a long time.

I just could not figure out a way to get the right consistency, the right glossiness, or the right slip that the original formula has. It was just plain alluding me!

All this time I was trying to use beeswax and getting an un-glossy, skiddy, sticky formula that was nothing like the original.

Then I came across cera bellina!

You may be thinking “Say what now?”, because I certainly was.

Well, it turns out that cera bellina is a derivative of beeswax that has the ability to do some pretty neat stuff – namely, make awesome ointment-y, translucent oil gel-like concoctions that are VERY similar to petroleum jelly but without all the bad stuff.

When used in small amounts (anywhere from 10-20% of a recipe) you can create a consistency that doesn’t harden like beeswax, melts well, is translucent, and has great slip. I was sold!

When I swapped out the beeswax for the cera bellina, the difference it made was substantial enough that I can confidently say that my version of Smith’s Rosebud Salve is the perfect dupe.

This recipe makes a 1/2oz of rosebud salve so feel free to multiply it as needed.

Since this recipe doesn’t contain any water, the shelf life can be anywhere from 6 months to a year if kept cool and dry. However, if it starts to smell “off”, throw it out and make a new batch.

*** I have since made a second batch of this recipe and found that using 4 parts carrier oil and 1 part beeswax makes a really lovely consistency – very petroleum like! So if you don’t have cera bellina on hand, definitely give it a try!

2. Next, bring one inch of water to a gentle simmer in a saucepan and place the pyrex in the center.

3. Melt the ingredients together, stirring on occasion to mix.

4. Prepare your lip gloss tubes/tins. I used a shot glass to hold my lip gloss tubes in place and it worked really nicely.

5. Once the ingredients are melted through, remove from the heat, wipe the bottom with a kitchen towel, and set it on a hot pad on the counter to keep it insulated.

6. Add in the red mica if using, and use the flexible spatula to mix it in thoroughly. This can be a bit tricky because the mica won’t want to mix and will look streaky at first. Just continue to smush it into the salve until there are no lumps or streaks of mica. If the salve starts to harden too much, put it back in the water bath to re-melt until it reaches a pourable consistency (this won’t matter so much it you’re only using a salve tin, but if you’re using a squeezy lip gloss tube with a narrow opening, you will need the salve to be liquid enough to pour easily). Continue stirring while re-melting to keep the mica from sinking to the bottom.

7. Now add in the vitamin E oil and the rose absolute. Stir to mix, then pour the salve into your container of choice.

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